one fell, and finally, another guard noticed. He had time to widen his eyes.
The last one she left for Archimedes. He didn’t disappoint. The matching dagger flew through the doorway, embedded in the guard’s throat.
Her husband came through next. He paused for a moment, staring at her before crossing the room, catching her face in his gentle hands. His thumbs swept over her cheeks. “Not these, Yasmeen. Not for me.”
“I won’t,” she said. But her eyes filled again. She touched his hair, his jaw, his mouth. Solid, real. Her voice trembled. “You came back to me.”
His smile all but wrecked her again. “I promised I would. And I had to save you.”
He had saved her, more than he could know. Then his mouth was on hers, bringing her heart into the space between them, restarting it with the sweetest kiss.
When he lifted his head, she followed him up. She would stop kissing him.
But not yet.
* * *
They met up with Longcock in the hangar. The first mate had finished off most of the guards, and as they made their way back to Lady Nergüi, Bushke’s remaining guards had surrendered—a tyrant fallen, and not a single member of her new crew lost.
They wouldn’t always be so fortunate. But Yasmeen wouldn’t question her luck today. Not after losing Archimedes, then holding him again.
By the time she reached the mooring station, Vashon had already loosened the tether holding her lady’s belly against the ground. The furnaces had been fired. Steam billowed from her vents in thick clouds.
Archimedes steadied the rope ladder for her. “Ready to go, then?”
No. They weren’t quite done. She looked to Longcock. “We can carry forty passengers. Choose them according to the length of their stay here. Don’t separate any families—if the person who has been here longest has forty children, they all come. We’ll be sending more ships for those who are left behind.”
“And Mr. Bilson, ma’am?”
That was up to Archimedes. She met his eyes, raised her brows.
He shrugged. “Don’t separate any families, as she said. Leave Bilson here with his brother. And we’ll let the other airships know that he was the very last person to arrive, so he should also be the last to leave.”
Yasmeen grinned. That suited her as well—and now she wanted to be off this damned floating city.
Climbing quickly, she reached her lady’s deck. Her heart swelled the moment her boots touched the boards. Only a year ago, she’d lost everything. Now she had a beautiful ship, a fine crew, and the most incredible man to share it with.
Yasmeen turned to him as he came over the gunwale. Now was not the time to kiss or to touch. Taking a cigarillo from her silver case, she lit one and passed it to him.
She let her fingers brush his, and loved the burn in his eyes. Together, they looked over the city. It was beautiful. Purples and reds and so much green. The gardens lush and fragrant, perfuming the air through the smoke.
“Bushke named it properly,” Archimedes said softly.
“Yes.” A paradise. “But it won’t last.”
“No?”
She shook her head. Whatever else Bushke had been, he wasn’t a fool. His ruthlessness had kept New Eden safe. “It won’t be long. Pirates will discover that they don’t have to fear seeing this city on the horizon. It will soon be prey.”
“Perhaps for a while,” Archimedes said. “New Eden’s reputation will have to change, but that doesn’t mean it will be known as weak. If the people who remain here love it, they will have reason to defend this city just as fiercely.”
Yasmeen narrowed her eyes at him. But she could hardly argue with that, could she?
A commotion below drew her gaze. Bilson. Apparently unhappy with Archimedes’ decision. Ah, but his desperation made the whole world brighter.
Perhaps not for everyone, though. This city had many vulnerabilities, as did the people who lived here. Someone like Bilson could easily take advantage of them. “Are we leaving another Bushke here?”
“Bilson?” Archimedes shook his head. “Not with his brother here. Joseph shut him down. I’ve never seen anyone else do that. So this might be the safest place for him.”
“And he could not be any farther away from your sister.”
Though Archimedes nodded, she saw the worry in his gaze. Yasmeen knew what it stemmed from. She felt the same.
“We exposed her when we put out those adverts. Now everyone knows that you have a sister…and that we will pay a fortune for her return.”
Archimedes’ jaw hardened. His only response was a nod—which